There is no need to miss out on the eight essential nutrients found in dairy foods if you’ve been diagnosed with lactose intolerance. Research suggests people with lactose intolerance can tolerate up to one cup of milk without symptoms, especially if it’s consumed with other food.1

Some dairy foods are naturally lower in lactose – for example, most hard cheeses contain little to no lactose and the bacteria in yoghurt helps to digest the lactose making it a lower lactose option.2

Australian dairy producers also make a range of lactose-free milks and yoghurts which you can find in the supermarket.

There are many causes of stomach bloating and digestive issues. Certain factors can ‘trigger’ attacks including infection, general diet, stress, medications or food intolerance such as impaired absorption of lactose.

Patients should always seek diagnosis by a reputable health professional before making dietary changes.

Most Australian children and adults actually aren’t meeting the recommended serves of milk, cheese and yoghurt as per the Australian Dietary Guidelines.3 Because of this, they are missing out on essential nutrients including protein, calcium, iodine and vitamin B12 which are important for:

• Healthy blood, skin, eyes and energy levels

• Muscle and nerve function

• Building strong, healthy bones

• Growth and repair in all parts of the body.

The latest research continues to show milk, cheese and yoghurt are not linked to weight gain or body fat gain. 4,5,6

Reduced fat and skim milk are made by simply removing some, or all, of the fat from fresh milk. Nothing else is removed, and nothing is added.

As it is a fat soluble vitamin, reduced fat varieties of milk are lower in vitamin A – but levels of the other nutrients in milk remain more or less the same. So, whether you choose regular fat, low fat or skim milk, you’re drinking a natural source of essential vitamins and minerals.

When long life milk is heated to a high temperature for a few seconds to extend its shelf life, very small amounts of vitamins, like thiamin, B6, B12 and folate, are lost. Other nutrients are not affected by the process, so long life milk is still a source of the same essential nutrients found in fresh milk – with the added convenience of lasting up to six months unopened on the shelf.

Dairy foods like milk, cheese and yoghurt offer much more than a good source of calcium for strong, healthy bones. They are a natural source of eight essential nutrients – including some that Australians don’t get enough of from their diets, like riboflavin, iodine and magnesium.

The Australian Dietary Guidelines recognise milk, cheese and yoghurt as foods that are associated with a reduced risk of diseases such as heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and some cancers.7

The latest research continues to show milk, cheese and yoghurt are not linked to weight gain or body fat gain.8,9,10

The great news is this applies to all varieties of milk, cheese and yoghurt, including regular-fat varieties – so you can include the types of dairy foods you enjoy in your diet every day, without feeling guilty.

As well as being a good source of calcium that is easy for your body to absorb, dairy foods provide other essential nutrients that are needed not only for strong bones but to give you energy, help you grow and repair tissue and keep your immune system healthy.

Supplements might be important for people who have trouble getting the nutrients they need from food or who have increased requirements. Calcium supplements only contain a single nutrient and using them to replace milk, cheese and yoghurt means you don’t get the extra health benefits of eating whole foods, so dietary calcium is the preferred source.11

The Australian Dietary Guidelines further supports this positioning, stating that calcium from foods may be preferable to calcium from some supplements.

While nuts and vegetables are packed with other important nutrients, it’s difficult to rely on them to meet your calcium needs. Most plant foods don’t contain much calcium, and those that do often contain other substances that can interfere with your body’s ability to absorb it efficiently.12

Dairy foods like milk, cheese and yoghurt are rich in calcium and this calcium is well absorbed by the body. To get the same amount of calcium as one serve of dairy, you would need to eat 32 Brussels sprouts or 21 cups of raw chopped spinach or five cups of cooked broccoli or one cup of dry roasted almonds.

Milk is not a high fat product – in fact even full cream milk is under 4% fat. Put another way, it’s 96% fat free. Reduced fat and low fat milk is usually 1–2% fat and skim milk is even lower with almost zero fat.

You may experience a thin, temporary coating over the mouth and throat after drinking milk. This is often mistaken for mucus, but it’s actually milk’s natural, creamy texture – and research has shown other liquids of a similar thickness to milk also result in this sensation. It’s not harmful and lasts for only a short period.

Cheese can be enjoyed in a well-balanced diet without concern for your cholesterol levels. A number of studies have found that eating cheese does not raise levels of ‘bad’ cholesterol, most likely due to the presence of other nutrients such as calcium 14 and the Australian Dietary Guidelines recognises getting enough milk, yoghurt and cheese in your diet is associated with a lower risk of heart disease.15

If your kids like flavoured milk, you can be sure it contains the same eight essential nutrients as plain milk.

Most flavoured milks available in Australia contain no more than 5% added sugar – this means a 250mL serve contains about two to three teaspoons of added sugar. Most of the total sugar in flavoured milk comes naturally from lactose.

Research shows kids who drink flavoured milk are more likely to meet their nutrient requirements than kids who don’t, without affecting their weight.16

16 Fayet F, Ridges L, Wright J, Petocz P. Australian children who drink milk (plain or flavored) have higher milk and micronutrient intakes but similar body mass index to those who do not drink milk. Nutr Res. 2013;33(2):95-102.

Most of the sugar in yoghurt comes from the natural milk sugar lactose. In some products it might also come naturally from added fruit. Different brands of yoghurt have different amounts of added sugar, and some may use artificial sweeteners. Natural or plain yoghurts are likely to have the least amount of added sugars, or even no added sugar.

All yoghurts made with cows’ milk will contain the same nutritious package of vitamins, minerals and protein.

Permeate is a technical term for something that is actually very easy to describe – it’s the parts of milk that are left after the fat and protein have been separated. This includes the lactose (natural milk sugar), vitamins and minerals in milk.

Separating milk like this and then adding permeate back into milk, is one way dairy manufacturers can standardise the fat and protein levels in milk and provide a consistent product all year round. There is nothing in fresh milk that is not milk, because permeate comes from milk. Whether your milk contains permeate or is permeate-free, it’s a nutritious product that gives you the eight essential nutrients milk naturally provides.

Grab the bottle or carton of milk from your fridge and check out the ingredients list on the label – chances are it has just one ingredient: milk.

Fresh milk from the cow is refrigerated and taken to the milk factory where it’s pasteurised (to kill potentially harmful bacteria and extend the milk’s shelf life) and homogenised (to give a smooth and creamy texture). The cream can also be separated at the factory to make reduced-fat or skim milk.

Unless the milk is fortified with extra nutrients for special health purposes, nothing is added – there’s nothing in milk that’s not milk.

Yoghurt is made by adding live bacteria to milk, which feed on the lactose in milk and produce lactic acid which ‘sets’ the yoghurt. Unique bacteria known as probiotics may be added for their health benefits. Sometimes fruit or flavourings are added to produce the huge range of yoghurt products you find at the supermarket.

15 National Health and Medical Research Council. Australian Dietary Guidelines, Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia; 2013.

16 Fayet F, Ridges L, Wright J, Petocz P. Australian children who drink milk (plain or flavored) have higher milk and micronutrient intakes but similar body mass index to those who do not drink milk. Nutr Res. 2013;33(2):95-102.